Crafting for a Cause: Houston Teen Steps Up During Coronavirus

Like many high school seniors, Beatrice Graubart is justifiably bummed. What should have been one final hurrah before heading off to college has transformed into a confused free fall into the world of online learning, not to mention a slew of upsetting cancellations: prom, her school’s senior trip to Israel and probably graduation. 

Yet Beatrice is not wallowing over these sudden changes; instead, the 18-year-old Emery/Weiner student is busier than ever, using any extra time at home to help others. From the moment she wakes up at 6 a.m. to the minute her head hits the pillow, Beatrice is engaged in one creative project after another, all designed to help those most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. 

In the morning, Beatrice begins her day by beading bracelets while watching the news. Featuring wooden beads that spell out phrases like “stay home” and “6 feet apart,” the bracelets were Beatrice’s first idea of helping during coronavirus. 

“My sister came home from New York City, and we were both looking for ways we could help,” says Beatrice. “I had made bracelets to raise money for the Berry family after their car accident 10 years ago. So, I came up with this idea to make bracelets to spend time [with my sister] while helping the community.” (Read about the Berry family here.)

Emery senior Beatrice Graubart is making and selling bracelets like this one that say “Stay Home.” She is using the money she raises to help first responders and families in need.   

Beatrice, along with her sister Isabel, 23, are selling these bracelets $10 apiece and donating the proceeds to various causes. They’ve already sold dozens of bracelets through word of mouth to friends and strangers across the country. They donated the first $1,000 they raised to Feed the Front Line, an organization that helps provide meals to health professionals fighting the coronavirus. Now, the crafty sisters are continuing to make and sell the bracelets to raise money for families in need.

At 9 a.m. each weekday, Beatrice sets aside the bracelets and logs onto her computer for virtual classes. She has four classes a day, 70 minutes each, running from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. During her lunch break, Beatrice sews facemasks using a sewing machine she discovered in the attic of her house. 

“I pulled it out and watched some YouTube videos and taught myself how to sew,” she says. Beatrice has been donating the masks to people in her community and next is offering to make them for her teachers. 

After school, Beatrice continues with these projects, along with a third one: making hand sanitizer out of aloe vera and essential oils. She’s doled out the hand sanitizers to her grandparents and some of their friends.  

In addition to beading bracelets, Beatrice Graubart has been sewing face masks to donate. 

Stepping up to help others seems to come naturally to Beatrice, who plans to study human rights in college. After Hurricane Harvey devasted the city of Houston, Beatrice, then a sophomore in high school, volunteered to help displaced families who were staying at Toyota Center. Volunteers were supposed to be ages 21 and over, but Beatrice was so eager to help she snuck in anyway. 

Beatrice was particularly struck by the children, who were confused and in so much pain after seeing their homes devastated. 

“I remember families just started pouring in and these kids were sitting on concrete floors under mylar blankets and in puddles,” she says. “That image for me is something I constantly think about.”

That image inspired her to reach out to Families Empowered, an organization that helps underserved families find the right school for their kids. She developed a program where she organized giving holiday gifts to more than 200 children affected by the hurricane.

Now, Beatrice is once again helping Families Empowered by helping put together more than 200 baskets for low-income children in need of school supplies. The baskets, filled with supplies like notebooks, pencils, erasers and markers, will help children who are suddenly forced to do schoolwork from home, where they lack the materials they need to learn. 

In addition to these materials, the baskets will include a gift card to a local restaurant, says Beatrice, who realized that many families are also struggling to feed their kids nutritious meals. 

“My priority is focusing on food and education with these baskets because you can’t go without either of them,” says Beatrice, who said she’s accepting donations of unused school supplies to add to the baskets. 

At the end of the day, when Beatrice has had a full day of school, beading bracelets, sewing masks and making hand sanitizer, she finally makes it to bed around 11 p.m. She says her brain sometimes struggles to turn off with all that is going on, and yet she prioritizes her sleep and well-being for the sake of others. 

“I try to get enough sleep so that I can work efficiently in the morning and get a lot done,” she says. “I know there is a greater need. I try to take care of myself so I can provide and keep going.” 

Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in purchasing a bracelet or donating to Beatrice’s projects, you can reach her at [email protected] or 832-671-0560. For more on Houstonians stepping up, read about helping medical professionals in Houston, helping those in the hospitality industry and residents helping to make face masks for the community.